From Scrubbing Pots to Super Yachts
Most 13-year-olds haven’t thought much about careers. So when Cantabrian Matthew Dickie started washing dishes in Akaroa’s Trading Rooms restaurant he really just wanted to earn a few dollars. But he started watching the chefs creating dishes and preparing plates and it sparked an interest in the culinary world. That was 10 years ago and since then his cooking skills have taken him round the world.
Words: Pattie Pegler Photography: Supplied By Matthew Dickie
A few years after starting at the Trading Rooms the mother of one of his friends offered him the chance to work as the cook on a boat in the Mediterranean. Matthew jumped at the chance. In what sounds like a daunting ‘interview’ he had to travel to Nelson and cook for a private celebration dinner of 60 people. His memories of his exact menu are hazy but one of the mains was lamb in ‘some sort of pistachio crust’ – and it was clearly convincing because a few weeks later he was heading to Greece to start his new role on a 26-metre ‘gulet’ boat touring the Greek coastline.
“It was just dive straight into it”, says Matthew. “The day that I got there I was shopping for food in the markets in Athens. I had zero Greek so it was sign language. I was super-excited and I just winged it.”
The work was full on for the three month summer season, with plenty of spectacular Greek coastline but no day off. Matthew worked around the guests and their plans each day, often getting up at 6am to start prepping for the day ahead. He was one of four crew but the only one responsible for catering and as well as making sure the guests were well-fed he had to cater for the crew; shop for groceries; plan menus and take into account any specific guest dietary requirements. It sounds like a tremendous amount of responsibility, particularly given that he was just 17 at the time – but Matthew is casually cheerful as he recounts the experience. He seems like someone who take things in their stride.
Matthew spent several summer seasons on the ‘gulet’ discovering the coastlines of Europe from Croatia to Turkey. And he made friends and connections in the boat community. “You start knowing boats and who works on what and there’s a real community with quite a few Kiwis and Aussies and South Africans in the crews. I’ve made heaps of really good mates,” he says.
It was a friend of a friend who opened the way for Matthew to make a career move. This time he had to travel to Monaco for an interview. It clearly went well because he now works alongside a head chef on a super yacht in a ‘massive’ kitchen with sea views – it’s a step up from his galley on the ‘gulet’. Fully crewed the 68-metre super yacht has 19 to 20 crew members. But Matthew works alongside the head chef, one of just two people in the kitchen.
So can he dish some dirt on the rich and famous? Sadly, no, like most crew on these boats he has signed a non-disclosure agreement and he might be grinning whilst I ask questions – but he’s giving nothing away. And besides, he adds, they have very little to do with the boat’s owner. The captain is the ‘boss’ of the crew and their contracts and wages are all organized through a management company.
“The boat is all very, very high end. I was just…I couldn’t believe it when I first started. I was blown away really. The lifestyle is amazing,” says Matthew. He’s been to the Formula 1 Grand Prix; dished up canapes for celebs; seen some amazing places and faced some cooking challenges – including what to do with the Asian delicacy ‘century’ eggs that some guests brought on board.
And he now also holds all his tickets for working on a super yacht – things like certificates in health and safety, firefighting and sea survival. As well as a licence for driving the small tender boat that takes passengers into shore.
What’s the best thing about work on a super yacht? “It’s the experience,” he says, “to experience the money that is around, the lifestyle that they have and to meet some massive names, actors and…. all of the above.”
Update: Whilst Matthew spent lockdown at home with his family in Canterbury, he’s not done with the world of super yachts. He is currently waiting for the call to head back overseas and re-join the crew.